Do forefoot runners need any cushioning at all at the heel?

I am a forefoot striker and run in Hyperspeeds which have little cushioning. Most of mileage is done on rather hard surface (asphalt). I can assure you that when it comes to high mileage weeks I really like extra cushioning and I have even put in extra layer of foam under insoles to soften the impact. It is not about adaption or form, you still need to deal with impacts and at some point it stresses some parts of body.

I think many people, when talking about minimalist shoes, does not understand how big of a difference makes the place where you are running. Please show me a guy who can run 60-70+ mpw in minimalist shoes on trails in Spain where surface is very hard and mostly covered with rocks. Then compare this with much softer surface in Central Europe where it's soft dirt trails mostly with very little rocks. And then with Scandinavian rocky surface.

Forefoot wrote: I haven’t seen anyone of the elites run barefoot or with minimalistic shoes. Even Abebe Bikila went into shoes in his second olympics.

Keith Bateman, WR M55 5000m, runs barefoot.

not an ELITE elite, but, hey, he's a world record holder.

cheers.

you might want a little cushioning in the heel when running downhill!

Nearly all of major sponsors don’t even have a minimalist shoe in their lineup. Of course the runners will prefer cushioned ones because that’s what they’ve been training in. Besides, when it comes to racing, more shoe might equal more confidence. It’s more justifiable to want more shoe in long races because you wouldn’t need to watch out where you are stepping.

We are evolved to run. However that running is, it does not matter. Our bodies can adapt. If you think we need cushion for fast running on hard surfaces, why? There is nothing proving that cushioning actually reduces impact for mid/forefoot strikers. It just lets bad form habits become comfortable.

Most of the above is incorrect

Forefoot runners put almost no weight on their heels. All most all the weight of the impact goes on the ball of the foot. The heel just kisses the ground with almost no weight at all. Also forefoot runners run at any given pace as slow as it may be on the ball of the foot. Even slow jogging

The majority of elite road runners make initial contact with their heels. It's not where most load their weight but after repeated striking of course you're going to feel it. On top of this when fatigue sets in during a long race your form 100% will break down to some degree. Lastly I recall a person setting up a camera at a barefoot enthusiast 5k where nearly 100% of the 3000 or so participants ran barefoot or in Vibrams, nearly half of the runners were making initial contact with the heel and oddly enough a higher proportion of completely barefoot runners did so. So yeah your 30 second video where you ran on an unnatural surface and likely completely fresh while focusing on your strike is nearly worthless and if you'd think for a second you'd come to that conclusion on your own. Oh and btw just because you land on your forefoot doesn't mean you have good form you could absolutely still be running upright and reaching outwards and still land on the balls of your feet.

When runners (even elites) fatigue, they tend to lands further backwards. Cushioned shoes do help elites. Several Kenyan/Ethiopians say they like cushioned shoes as they don't fatigue the calf muscle as much - something forefoot runners engage more.

In regards to the human body being adaptable, yes it is - is we can learn to run on hard surfaces barefoot fine, we can also run in cushioned shoes fine. pretty useless point!

Forefoot wrote:

I run forefoot.while running on the road I don’t think there is any need for cushioning of the heel in the shoe. I see logic in cushioning the ball of the foot area, but how come I haven’t seen any shoe with cushioning only in the front? That weight on the heel area has no use.

Cushioning anywhere in any running shoes has no usefulness.

The purpose of shoes is to (1) provide protection only, nothing else.

Cushioning has nothing but harmful effects.

Just run with what works for you. I've ran over 200 miles per week on zero drop minimalist shoes. People ask me what type of shoes I wear or what types of shoes should they buy for running. I just tell them whatever works for you. There is NO panacea for running shoes. What Dr. Daniel Liberman says about human evolution and endurance running makes a lot of sense. I'll go with his ideas over the maketing schemes of Nike, Adidas, Altra, etc.

Geb easy running- lands on the ball of the foot.

Bolt jogging- ball of foot

I can give you endless clips like this. Your landing pattern isn’t conditioned by your speed. It’s the same at all speeds. Either ball of foot or heel- it’s two different styles with nothing in between. And you don’t change in the 30k from forefoot to heelstrike because of fatigue- it’s a completely different thing. Look at the elites at the end of a marathon- they might change other thing due to fatigue but they don’t change their foot strike

The same for the front wrote:

Forefoot wrote:

I run forefoot.while running on the road I don’t think there is any need for cushioning of the heel in the shoe. I see logic in cushioning the ball of the foot area, but how come I haven’t seen any shoe with cushioning only in the front? That weight on the heel area has no use.

Cushioning anywhere in any running shoes has no usefulness.

The purpose of shoes is to (1) provide protection only, nothing else.

Cushioning has nothing but harmful effects.

0/10

Cushioning is a form of protection, ya moran.

Why would someone need forefoot cushioning? You want the forefoot of the shoe to be reactive whether you forefoot or heel strike.

freddd wrote:

Nobody, including "forefoot runners", runs exclusively on the ball of their foot. They land on the forefoot, but transfers weight back to the heel during the footstrike.

I'm a FF stricker. I don't agree with you completely...its a matter of degree. I do transfer back to the heel but its dependent on pace...the slower the more transfer there tends to be. If I'm running faster than 3:00/k though, I don't even strike on the heel and then need for cushioning is minimal.

vibram for brains wrote:

The same for the front wrote:

Cushioning anywhere in any running shoes has no usefulness.

The purpose of shoes is to (1) provide protection only, nothing else.

Cushioning has nothing but harmful effects.

0/10

Cushioning is a form of protection, ya moran.

The same protection can be achieved by 5mm of rubber, ya moran.

+1

Where are you coming up with this?

I'd like to see evidence that these claims are true. I would never hit heel-first while barefoot because that hurts.

Tara mmhhh ara wrote:

Why would someone need forefoot cushioning? You want the forefoot of the shoe to be reactive whether you forefoot or heel strike.

Exactly. There is no reason for cushioning in running shoes, because it only has harmful effects.

Runsmith wrote:

vibram for brains wrote:

0/10

Cushioning is a form of protection, ya moran.

The same protection can be achieved by 5mm of rubber, ya moran.

There's no cushioning protection then, ya moran.

Cushioning lets you run more recklessly which helps 100% of the time.